A case for the defence coach
IF ever a match highlighted the worth of Shaun Edwards to this Welsh team, it was Saturday’s hugely encouraging victory over Argentina in San Juan.
Rugby has evolved in recent years, attacks tend to be on top these days, as we saw in Ellis Park as South Africa edged out England 42-39 in a thrilling try fest.
There are a glut of points being scored in international rugby, which is great for spectators, but not so for defence coaches, who must be pulling their hair out.
It is a good job Shaun hasn’t got any!
Seriously, though, for Wales to concede just 10 points and hold their line until the 76th minute against the Pumas was a stunning effort.
This Argentina side, in the guise of the Jaguares, have been scoring tries for fun in Super Rugby.
The Pumas have long moved away from being a set-piece driven team who will look to try to grind you into the turf.
Yet a much-changed Wales line-up containing a lot of young, inexperienced players, made the home team look very ordinary.
Defence won Wales the game in my eyes.
Wales took all of Argentina’s options away from them, forcing the home side to play behind the gainline and it meant James Davies had a field day at the breakdown.
Knowing Shaun, he would have still been disappointed that the Pumas managed to get across the whitewash five minutes from time, he hates conceding tries and makes no secret of that, but deep down he would have been delighted with how his side performed without the ball.
What was clever was how Wales mixed it up.
They drifted when they had to and when they had to come up aggressively they did that.
They had great success at the breakdown, but they also didn’t attack every breakdown.
There were times when no Welsh players were contesting the contact area which allowed them to have numbers in defence. It was a really intelligent display.
It reminded me a bit of 2008 and our Six Nations Grand Slam campaign when we only conceded two tries throughout the tournament. Against France, in the final match in Cardiff, we defended our hearts out and took a couple of opportunist scores when the chances presented themselves.
Shaun, of course, demand more.
When he comes up to you after the match the first thing he will chat about is the tries you have conceded. But, as I said earlier, he will have been a happy man after that game. During my career, I learned most of my defensive abilities from him. He knew I wasn’t the biggest or the most aggressive of defenders and we worked on that one on one, that is what Shaun does. He does tell you when you make a mistake, trust me, but he also praises you when things do go your way.
And he would have done a lot of that on Saturday evening.
He has been linked to a number of vacant club and national posts in recent months, but that display last weekend just shows how important he is to Wales leading up to next year’s World Cup in Japan.
I couldn’t second guess Warren’s selection last weekend and I don’t think I’ll be able to it this week. I am sure there will be changes again and perhaps we will see the likes of Aled Davies at nine and Ryan Elias at hooker, players who haven’t started will always on this tour to date.
Warren said before the start of this trip that he wanted to give everyone a chance and he has been true to his word.
His policy has reaped the rewards with the likes of Adam Beard and Dillon Lewis stepping out of the shadows.
A week after Ellis Jenkins starred in Washington, James Davies staked his claim for the No 7 jersey, while I thought Rhys Patchell had his best game in a Wales shirt.
As for Hadleigh Parkes, he may only have eight caps to his name, but he looks like he has been playing international rugby all his career.
It was just so encouraging to see Wales play like a side who had been together for a long time, rather than just a few weeks.
And it has given Warren the kind of depth he has been craving for so long.
Sometimes players go on a summer tour and you don’t see them again, but these players are here for a reason.
And it means there are going to be some tough calls to be made over the next 15 months or so.
Just look at the back row.
They say it is a nice headache to have, I don’t think it is!
There are going to be a couple of world-class players who are going to miss out on that squad for Japan.
But that is what Warren wanted from this tour.
He wanted competition and he has got just that.
Players have been given their chance and boy have they stepped up to the mark.